The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 30, 1902, Page 4

THE SUNDAY CALL Copyright, 1002, by Robert Hownrd Russell PECTERS? Never; I refooses ‘em my beliefs utter”: and wi emphatic words the Old Cattler tasted his liquor thoughtfully & The experiment 3 h thesc n on I gue pot satisfactory: he dispatched dark retainer Tom for lemons and sugar. “An’' you-all might better tote along some hot water, t00,” he commanded his yere ver-fervid: a lee- jure it none."” st 7" an’ nosepaint feels raw tle dilootion won't ir But what about g 1 persisted hosts?” he retorted. ‘I never doe hear of but one; that's a apparition which enlists the attentions of Peets and Old Man Enright a whole lot. It's a specter that takes to ha'ntin’ about one of the Bar-B-§ sign-camps, an’ scarin’ up cattle; drivin’ 'em over a precipice, all to Boright's disaster an’ loss. Nacherally, Baoright don't like this spectral play; an' him an' Peets lays that wraith with Winchesters, busts its knee some, an’ Peets ampytates its laig. Then they throws it loose; allowin’ that now its only got one laig, them visitations will mighty likely cease. Moreover, Enright regyards ampytation that a-way, as punishment enough. Which I should shore allow as much myse'f! “It ain’t much of a tale. It turns out like all them sperit stories: when you ap- proaches plumb close, jumps sideways an’ seizes 'em by the antlers, the soopernach- eral elements sort o' bogs down. “It’s over mebby fifty miles to, the southeast sitville, some’ers in the fringes of the Tres Hermanas that thar's & sign-camp of Enright’s brand, the Bar- BS. Thar's a couple of Enright’s riders holdin wn this angle of the Bar-B-§ game, renin’ both of ’em comes squanderin’ in—poni foam an' faces pele as paper—an’ puts it up they don't return no more. “‘Because she's ha'nted,’ says one; ‘Jim an’ me both encounters this yere banshee an’ it's got fire-eyes. Also, itse'f an’ pony is likewise built of bloo flames. You can gamble! I don’t want no more of it in mine * that's whatever!’ “Any gent can see that these yooths is plumb scared. Enright elicits their yarn only after pourin' about a quart of nose- paint into "em “It looks like on two several o'casions that & handful of cattle gets run over a steep bluff from the mesa above. The fall is some sixty feet in the cl'ar. An' when them devoted cattle lights, it's plenty easy 1o guess they're sech no longer, an' thar's nothin’ left of 'em but beef. These beef @rives happens each time in the night: an’ the cattie must have been stampeded complete to make sech a trip. Cattle, that a-away, can't be relied on to gp ohargin' over a high bluff onless their rea- son s first onhinged. No, the coyotes an' the mountain lions don't do it; they never chases cat holdin' ‘em in fear an' trem- biin'. These yere mountain lions prounces onto colts like & mink on a settin’ hen, but never calves or cattle. “It's after the second beef killin' which this specter makes when the two riders sllows they'll do some night ridin’ them- se'ts an’ see if they solves these yere pheenomencns that's cuttin’ into the herds of the Bar-B-§ “*An' it's mebby second drink time after midnight,’ gasps the cow puncher who's relatin’ the adventures, ‘an’ me an’ Jim is experimentin’ along the aige of a mese, when of & suddent thar comes two steers, heads down, tails up, locoed abso- lute they be; an’ flashin’ about in the rar of 'em rides this yere flamin' cow sperit on its flamin’ cayouse. Shore! he beads ‘em over the cliff; I hears ‘em hit the bottom of the canyon jest as I falls off my broncho in a fit. As soon as ever I come to an’ can scramble into that Tex- Qamphor Scerpion Take a glass, fll it with water and place pleces of camphor of uneven size on its surface, forming the figure of an animal—for instance, that of & scorpion. After a short while the scorpion will start to move in the water, working its Jegs as if it wanted to swim, while its tall will move ltke that of a live scor- plon. This experiment teaches us that camphor has a tendency {0 move on the surface of the water, caused by the evap- oration of the camphor fumes; this will be accomplished without dissolving the camphor; single pieces will not sepnrate, but follow the laws of cohesion. This experiment is very surprising in its ef- fect—try it and see. DrzwinG Puzzle. Not one person out of a hundred will be able to draw these animals with one line, without previous imstruction. This §s amusing for little children and also their elders. us saddle ag'in me an' Jim simply hits the res In the scen an' here we 1 be An' 1 don't go back to that Bar-B-§ mp. I ain’t ridin’ herd on no upparitions; an' whenever ghosis takes to romancin' about in the cow' business me out.' ckon,’ says Enright, wrinklin' up his brows, ‘I'll take a look into this rack- et myse'f.’ ‘*An' if you-all con't a none, En- s Peets, ‘I'll get my chips in ¥ Thar's be no one shot for « month In Red D an’ Woifvi le, an’ I'm plum free of patients, An' now, If the boys'll promise to ho'd themse'fs an’ their guns ste: for a weck or rfo, an’ not go to constructin’ no need for my presence abrupt, 1 fizger that a few days’ ridin’ about the ranges, an' mebby a riot or two roundin’ up this cow demon, will expand me a heap an’' do me good “ *You're Jookin’ for trouble, Doc,” says Colonel Sterett, kind o’ laughin’ at Peets, ‘You reminds me of a cnbappy sport T enc unters long ago in Looeyville.’ ‘An’ wherein dces t"is y:re B'co Grass ty resemble me?' asks Pects. ““It’s one evenin',’ says Coionel Sterett, ‘an’ a passel of us is sittin’ about a table in the Galt House bar, toyin’ with our beverages. Thar's a smooth, good-lookin’ stranger who's camped t a table near. Final he yawns like h shore weary of life, an’ looks rp an’ cur'ous. Then he spea o' gen'ral, as though he's addre air. “This is a mighty dull tow he says. “Which I've been yere a fortnight an’ I ain’t had a fight ye An’ he continues to look us over ome mournful. “You-all needn’t gaze on us that away,” says a gent named Granger; “you can put down tack on it, you al goin’ to pull on no war with none of u “‘“Shore, mno!” says the onhappy stranger. Then he goes on apol'getic: “Gents, I'm onfortunately constitooted. Onless I has troubleat least once a month it preys on me. I've been yere in your town two weeks, an’ ain't seen the sign of a riot. Gents, it's beginnin’ to tell on me, an’ if any of you-all could direct me where 1 might get action it would be kindly took.” “* “If you're honin’ for a mu says Granger, “all you has to do s go a couple of blocks to the east, an’ then five to the no'th, an' thar on the corner you'll note a mighty prosperous «'loon. You ca- per in by the side door; it says FAMILY ENTRANCE over this yere portal. Sa’'n- ter up to the bar, call for licker, drink it; then you-all remark to the bare keep, casoonl llke, that you're thar to maintain that any outcast who'll well sech whisky ain't fit to drink with a nig- ger or eat with a dog. That's all: that barkeep'll relleve you of this load thut's been burdenin’ your nerves In thirty seconds. You'll be the sport in Looeyville wHen through."” + “But you come an' p'int out the place?’ coaxes the onhappy strange® of Granger. He's all wropped up in what Granger tells him. “As I states, I don't know my way about good, an’ from your descriptions 1 shorely wouldn't miss vis- itin’ about happlest he gets can't that resort for gold and preclous Come an’' show me, pard; I'l you there in a keeriage.” “ ‘At that Granger consents to guide the onhappy stranger. They drives over an’ Granger stops that outfit, mebby, she's fifty yards from the door. He plints it out to the onhappy stranger sport. “**“Come in with me,” says the onhap- py stranger as he gets outen the keer- riage. “Come on; you-all don’t have to fight none. I jest wants you to watch me. Which I'm the dandiest warrior for the whole length of the Ohio!” “‘But Granger is firm that he won't. He's not inquisitive, he says, an’ will stay planted right thar on the r'ar seat an awajt deevelopments a whole lot. With that the onhappy stranger sport goes mournfully for'ard alone, and gets into the gin mill by the said FAMILY EN- TRANCE. Granger sets thar with his head out, lookin’ an’ listenin’. * ‘Everything’s plenty quiet for a min- ute. Then slam! bang! bing! crash! the most flagrant riot breaks forth! It sounds like that store’s comin’ down. The racket rages an’' grows worse. Thar's & smashin of glass. The lights g0 out, while customers comes boundin’ and skippin' forth from that FAMILY ENTRANCE like antelopes. At last them uproar dies down; final, they subsides complete. * ‘Granger is beginnin’ to upbraid him- se'f for not gettin’ the onhappy stran- ger's address so's he could ship home the remainder. In the midst of Granger's se'f accoosation, that a-way, the lights in the gin mill begins to burn ag’in, one by one. After awhile, she's reilloomin- ated an’ ablaze with old time glory. It's then the door of the FAMILY EN- TRANCE opens an’' the onhappy stran- ger sport emerges onto the sidewalk. He's in his shirtsleeves, an’ a angelic smiles wreathes his face. He shore loocks plumb content! “**“Get out the keerrlage an’ come in, e e e e i i e e T ) / “THAT DON'T LOOK SO SOUPERNACHERAL NEITHER,” SAYS ENRIGHT, PINTIN’ TO THE HOOF PRINTS. pard,” he shouts down to Granger. “Come on in a whole lot! I'd journey down thar an' get you, but I can't leave; I'm tendin’ bar ‘You're shore right, colonel,' says Peets when Colonel Sterett ends the aneé- dote, ‘the feelin’ of that onhappy stranger wport s absolootely parallel to mine. 0sts I new to me; an’ I'm goin' plroot- in' off with right on this demon hunt an’ wee If 1 can't fetch up In the midst of & trifle of nerve-coolln’ trouble.’ “Phe ghost tales of the stampeded cow- punchers excites Dan Boggs a heap. After Enright an' Peets has organized an' done p'inted out for the ha'nted Bar- B-8 gign camp to investigate the spook, Dan.can't talk of nothin' else, ““Them's mighty dead game gents, Enright an’ Doc Peets is!' says Dan, ‘Which I wouldn't go searchin' for no sperits more'n 1'd fondle rattlesnakes! I draws the line at intimacies with fiends.' “*But mebby this yere is a angel,’ says Faro Nell, from her stool alongside of Cherokee Hall. § Not eriticizin’ you none, Nell,’ says Dan, ‘Cherokee himse'f will tell you sech surmises is reedic’lous. No angel is goin’ to visit Arizona for obvious reasons. An’ ag'in, no angel's doo to go skallhootin’ about after steers an’ stampedin’ 'em over brinks. bet! shore-ehough porsonal, bunch of ponfes!® “ABA you- asks Iaro Nell, “'Bo 1 ‘I don't demon! me a ghost right how I runnin’ for appals me partic'lar,’ ‘about Peets an' their guns, indignant if a lot with glins, insults. he's prancin’ you Xkmow it It's plumb ag'in reason; you That blazin’ wraith, that a-way, is An' as I wouldn't cut his trall for a 1l scared of ghosts, scared of ghosts? want to brag 1'll gamble four to one, an’ go as far as you Itkes, that If you was to up an' show a plumb month, goes Enright Now, a ghost waxes onusual ou takes to shootin’ him up No, it don't hurt him; but he regyards sech demonstrations as It's like my old pap says that time about the Yankees. a colonel with Gen'ral Price, an’ on this yere evenin’ 1s engaged In leadin’ one of the most intrepid retreats of the war. along at the men, where a great commander belongs, he's shore scandalized by hearin’ his r'ar gyard firin' on the Yanks. back, my old pap does, “Yere you'all eediots! mean by shooting at them Yankees? Don't only makes 'em madder?"” My old pap s an’ ‘Whatever do you An' that concloods Dan, ‘Is how I feels about specters. I wouldn't go slammin’ loosg at ‘em with no gun t only makes 'em/ madder.’ ““It's the next day, an' Peets an’ Enright for me, Dan?" 18 organized In the ha'nted sign-camp of the Dar-B-§, Also, they've been lookin' says Dan, round. By ridin’' along onder the face of none, Nellle, but this yere precipice they come, one after t'other, on what little 18 left of the dead steors, What strikes 'em as a heap pecoo- ler 1s, thar's no bones nor horns. Two or three of the hoofs is kickin' about, an' Enright plcks up one the coyotes over- looks, It shows It's been cut off at the fetlock j'Int by a knife, ““This yere specter, says Enright, passin’' the hoof to Peets, ‘packs a bowle; an' he llkewise butchers his prey. Also, ondoubted, he freights the meat off some'ers to his camp, which is why we don't notice no' big bones ldyin' ‘round loose.' Then Enright scans the grass mighty scroopulous; an' shore enough! thar's plenty of pony tracks dented into the soil. “That don't look so soopernach- eral neither,’ says Enright, p'intin’ to the hoof prints. “ ‘Them’s shorely made by a flesh an’ blood pony,’ says Peets. ‘An’' from their goin’ some deep into the ground, I de- dooces that said cayouse is loaded down wouldn't stop But what on Dan, 18 they talkes As head of his So he rides he says: B e e e e B R o e B S e i R ! oM THE NECESSARY MATP- RIALS FOR THE TRICKS IN THESE COLUMNS ARE FOUND IN EVERY FUN- LOVING HOME, OR MAY EASILY BE PROCURED AT THE EXPENSE OF A FEW CENTS. — P E MAGIC . *A Drep of Bend a match in the center so that it forms an acute angle and place it over the neck of a large bottle; on top of the match place a plece of money, a cent, for instance, as shown In figure. The trick is to put the the bottle without touching the match or the bottle. Dip your finger in water, holding it over the place where the match is bent, and allow one or two drops of water to fall on that point. The two sides of the angle will open slowly, allowing the money to drop into the bottle. money into - with what welght of beef an' man it can stagger onder.’ ‘“That evenin' over their grub, Enright an' Peets discusses the busine Thar's & Jim-Crow Mexican plaza not three miles oft In the hills, Both of ‘em is awar' of this yore hamlet, an' Poets, partic'lar, is well ucquainted with a old Mexican sharp who lives thar—he's a kind o' schoolmas: ter among 'em—who's mighty cunnin’ a learned, His name is Jose Miguel “‘An' I'm beginnin' to figs: says Poets, ‘that this yere ghostly rider is the foxy little Jose Miguel, "Which I've fr quent talked with him; an' he saveys enough about drugs an' chemicals, that a-way, to paint up with phosphorus an’ go surgin’ about, stampedin’ them cattle over the bluffs, It's a mighty good idee from his standp'int. He can argue that the cattle kills themse'fs—sort o' mits sooicide inadvertent—and if we-all tracks up on him afterwards with the beef, he insists on his innocence; an’ puts it up that his cuttin’ in on the play after them cattle done slays themse'fs, injures no- body but coyotes. * ‘Doc,’” coincides Enright after roomi- natin’ a lot in silence, ‘Doc, the longer I ponders, the more them theerfes seems shore sagacious. That enterprisin’ Greaser is fest about killin’ my beet, an’ sellin’ it to the entire plaza. Not only does this yere ghost play operate to stampede the cattle, an’ set 'em runnin’ cimmaron an’ locoed so they’ll chase over the cliffs to _ their ends, but likewise it sefves to scare my cowpunchers off the range, which last, ondoubted, this Miguel looks on as a de- sideratum. However, it's goin’ to be good an’ dark to-night, an' if we-all has half luck I figgers we fixes him.’ “It's full two hours after midnight, an’ while thar's stars overhead, thar's no meon; an’ along the top of the mesa it's as dark as the inside of a cow. Peets an’ Enright is Injunnin’ about en the prowl for the ghost. They don't much reckon it’ll be abroad, as most likely the plasa has beef enough. “ ‘However, by to-morry night’ says Enright in a whisper, ‘or at the werst by the night after, we're shors te meet up with this yere marauder.’ * ‘Hesh!'" whispers Peets, at the same time stoppin’ Enright with his hand, he's out to-night!’ “An’ thar, for shore, is something Hke a dim bleo light movin' about over across the plains, mebby it's half a mile. Now an’ then two brighter lights shows in spots, like the flames of candles; them's the fie eyes the locoed cowboys talls of. ‘Whatever it is, whether spook or Greaser, it's quarterin’ the plains like one of these yere huntin’ dogs. Its gait, that a-way, @ iiniinib i @ The Rrcken Cord Show the audience twe and three rings. Then over the two pleces of cord, as shewn in Fig. A, and give the two ends of cord to somebody to hold. Then cover the rings with your hand for a moment and ‘“presto!” the rings aro free, while the cords are Intact. This surprising experiment s done in the following way: Before your exhi- bition slice a thin fiber from one plece of cord and tie (as shown in Fig. B) the two pleces of cord, covering the place where the cords are tied with your hand until the rings are put over them, higing the place of connection. Then you give the cords with the rings to somebody to hold caretully (as shown in Fig. C), and remove the rings with one quick pull. To show that the cords are intact, slip your thumb between the two ends, as shown in Fig. D. 1s mebby a slow canter. “ ‘He's on the sco! say i to start a steer or two But he ain’t located none yet wEnright an’ Peets slides to the grou Enrig n the an’ hobbles their broncos. They d alm to have them go pirootin’ over no bluffs in any bl ga of a flrst gurprise. When the ponles is safe t begins makin' up bends plumb low an' ward the ground on which this y sbimmerin’ shadow s ha'ntin’ ab Things come their way; they has They aln't crope forty rods when ghost sort o' heads for 'em. They ca easy tell he's comin’, for the fir shows all the time, an’ mot by fi's a starts, as former. As the bloo shim makes out the Son, she's vague draws nearer they shadows of a man on a hoss, shore plenty gh is a An right allows la t's no ma I them punchers vamoses sech harrowin’ scene “ How about it? w s Peets. ‘Sha I do the shootin'?" “ Which your eyes is younger,' Enright. ‘You cut loose, an' I'll sta to back the play. Only aim plen in th You can’'t he'p overshootin’ Hold as low as his stirrup.’ up “Peets, pulls himse'f straight as a saplin’ an’ runs his left hand along the bar’l as far as his arm’ll reach. An hangs long on the aim, ootin’ in th dark aln't no cinch this yere ghc a bright ghost, it would be easy. But he ain’t; he's bloo an’ dim like was out moonlight or when it's jest get be dawn. Enright's twenty yarc side so as to free himse'f of Peet in case he has to make the second play “But Peets calls the turn. With the crack of his Winchester, the ghost up sech a screech t it proves he ail white; an’ also that 1l live throu the evenin's events. As this yere spec yelps, the bloo cayouse goes over on head an’ neck an’ th side. The lead whic specter’s knee to st through “As P other than alls dead on y smash rs goes glimmer is phorus; an’ them eye in their caps. up; this Miguel ‘Is groar * Marie, Madre 4 he sees who dow to Enright an’ his life. With that E: ht silently lets down the hammer of his rifle. “Peets, when the sun comes begs a up, enjoys himse't speshul with that operation. Pee is fond of ampytations that a-way, he hacks off said limb with zest and gusto. * ‘Which I shore deplores it, Jose,” sa Peets, ‘to go shortenin’ up a fellow sci- entist like this. But thar's no he'pin’ it P fate has so decreqd. Also, as some com tort to your soul, I'll say that I explains to Sam Enright as to how you won't rid no more when I gets you falrly trimmed Leastwise, when I'm done prunin’ ) thar won't be nuthin’ but one of th yere women's saddles that you'll fit, an no gent, be he white or be he Greaser can work cattle from a side saddle with that Pee(s; hummin’ & bifthe roun- delay, cuts me ly away at that wound- ed member."” Blood-Red Rain Fell. PECULIAR phenomenon was ob- servable throughout Southern Eu- rope, and more especially in Sicily, on the 10th of March last, in the occurrence of what seemed to be a raln of blood. The fields, trees and roofs were “painted red” in a very literal sense, and doubtless in many outlying parts the oc- currence was regarded as & portent of terrible significance. The rain, however, was subjected to chemical analysis—a pro- cess which has little sympathy with su- pernatural things—and its exact composi- tion ascertained, confirming the accepted theory of its origin. It consisted ef 60 per cent or red sand, and the rest was composed of clay, a littls organic matter and about § per cent of water. Under the microscope vegetable fibers, fragments of diatoms and other debris could be seen. It was evident that the red matter was not of volcanic origin. The various chem. ists who examined it agreed that come from the Desert of Sahara, the mystery of the “rain of bloed™” explained. The matter is of great Intevest when we remember that similar ocowr rences are described by Livy and other